Dancing With The Snake
by evafreed
Summary: Draco Malfoy is being forced to dance with Harry Potter. Harry Potter doesn't mind... Draco Harry slash.
1. Dancing All Alone

Hi, everyone! This story is Harry/ Draco slash. Dumbledore, Sirius, Tonks, Lupin, etc. are all still only people to die were (obviously) Harry's parent's and Cedric. The story will be in part about the uprising of the death eaters. Harry defeated Voldemort in year 4, and although Malfoy is still a bloody meanie, he isn't a deatheater or evil. However, his father is. Other pairing's then our lovely Draco and Harry, but just the regular, R/H, L/N, G/... haven't decided yet, actually. Fred and George will be in here somewhere, I'll sneak them in since I luv them so much : )

NO O/Cs, I HATE THEM SO. Enjoy the slashie slahedy slash!

Draco Malfoy was easily the most hated person in Harry Potter's life, which didn't really explain why when he opened his eyes in the morning, Draco was in his bedchamber, picking up, examining for value, and placing down with a sneer every single item he could find.

"Honestly, Potter. Do you have anything of value here? My father says that any wizard worth his salt has at least one or two inherited magical items worth a couple galleons, but all you have is that common invisabilty cloak."

Harry snorted indignatly. "I's not common! D'you have one? Didn't think so!"

Draco shrugged. "Whatever. I've got several Slytherin heirlooms, which are worth far more than some piece of fabric."

Harry slung his legs out of bed, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, but does that really explain what you're doing in my bedroom."

Pause.

"Draco, that was a question, not a statement."

Draco took a deep breath, running his hands through his blond-white hair. "Damn, I knew that was going to come up. Well, you remember the yule ball three years ago?"

Harry smirked. "The one where I single handedly defeated Voldemort afterwards?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yeaah, that's the one. I knew that _incident _would come up again, you little bragger. Anyways, we're having another one in December."

Harry stood up, clad in golden snitch pajamas. "Yeah, I'm actually chief designer of the dance."

Draco rubbed the back of his neck, preparing to say the most embaressing words ever said. "Congrats. Well, you know how they pick the parteners? Out of the goblet of fire?"

Harry wiggled his bare toes at Draco, as he was under the bed looking for socks. "Yeees.... and...."

Draco blushed, his pale face turning as red as a Weasley child's. "Well.... you and me got picked and apparently I'm on the dance committee too and second in command."

The sound of a bang came from under the bed as Harry's head bolted up. "JESUS!" He screamed, and pushed himself out from under the bed. "THAT GODDAMN CUP HAS REALLY GOT IT IN FOR ME! MY GOD..."

"And remember what McGonagall said? About us actually having to dance with our partners on at least three occasions? She even said she'd be monitoring us.... ol' bat."

Harry frowned. "Well, we're going to go talk to her right now. There's no way that this is happening. I mean, for Dumbledore's sake, we hate each other. Everyone knows that! C'mon..." He grabbed Draco's arm.

Draco felt something odd as Harry's fingers wrapped around his slightly muscled upper arm. Like... like he was sick. He felt something drop in the pit of his stomach, an ache in his head, a trembling in the arm which Harry Potter now held.

He slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me, Potter." He sneered. "I'm very well capable of going places on my own."

A surprised Harry shrugged and kept walking.

"Potter?"

He sighed, spinning around. "YES, DRACO! Any more bad news you want to share with me? Ooo, I know! Hermione accidently had sex with a death eater? Ron ate some rat poison? _What!?!"_

_"_Your socks don't match. You've got one which I think belongs to Ginny, the one with the purple sparkly heart, and the other one is the snitch one Dobby knitted."

Harry stared Malfoy's pale face, making a pink blush spread over his delicate features.

"Wha-what..." Draco muttered, looking down.

"Nothing." Harry shrugged. "I'm just surprised that you aren't a git all the time."

And he grabbed his hand, starting to run across the grounds, and this time...

Draco didn't let go.


	2. Dancing to Coldplay

Harry, dragging a surprised and exhausted Draco behind him, entered Professer McGonagall's office with a bang, forcing the locked door open.

"Oh!" McGonagall stopped grading papers and looked up at Harry indignatly. "Potter, would you mind entering my office in a more orthadox manner?"

Harry ignored the statement. "Professor! Draco and I have been paired for the Yule Ball and I think the goblet may be broken. Draco and I have no attraction towards each other, we HATE each other!"

The professer raised her eyebrows and indicated with her glasses towards their clasped hands. "That would indicate otherwise, Potter."

Draco, as usual, was not paying attention. "Hey, you gave me a troll! What's that about, Prof?"

Minerva rolled her eyes, and turned back to Harry. "I'm sorry, Potter, all decisions the goblet makes are final. In the meantime, I suggest that you get a move on decorating, the both of you. You got the memo that the dance has been moved ahead, I presume?"

Draco dropped the crystal ball he was holding. McGonagall winced, and proceeded to shove them out of her office. "I expect the two of you to get along!" She yelled, slamming the door. "Professor!" Harry shouted, banging on the door. "I'm not gay! I'm not! ARGH!"

Draco looked pointedly at him. "I think I walked in on you snogging a picture of McLaggen once."

"WHA-...." Harry gaped at him. "I mean... uh, I would never do that!"

"Whatever," Draco sighed. "How far has the dance been moved ahead, Potter?"

Harry never got the chance to answer, since he was bowled over by a very enthusiastic Ginny Weasley. "JESUS, GINNY!" He yelled, shoving her off.

"Harry, omigawd, did you hear?!?" She didn't wait for his answer before jumping up. "The dance has been moved to next Sunday!"

"What?!?" Harry breathed. "That only gives us a week to organize it! Ginny, where's the list of people participating?"

Ginny removed the list from her shoulderbag at the speed of a chipmunk.

"Geez, Ginny!" He shook his head. "How come Ron didn't stop you drinking so much coffee?"

She shrugged. "Too busy snogging Lavender. I hate her, she's worse than Phelm. Honestly, can my brothers make any good decisions without me?!?"

Harry sighed. "Alright Ginny, go tell Ron to stop shoving his tongue down his girlfriends mouth and start gathering supplies."

She sped off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake.

Harry sighed. "Draco, look at this list."

He leaned over Harry's shoulder, breathing on his neck, an action which made both boy's shiver. "Sorry," He muttered.

Harry shook his head. "There's only ten people here! You, me, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Dean, Angeline, Fred and George. They're sponsering the event and McGonagall wanted them to help, though I don't know why. And she insisted we play Muggle music too. Gawd, it's not even ours anymore."

Draco shrugged. "I guess the first thing to do is choose a playlist?"

Harry and Draco worked on the playlist for about two hours and they kept conflicting. Harry wanted Jack's Mannequin, Draco wanted the Ramones. Harry wanted soft music, Draco wanted metal. Harry wanted Coldplay (gay boy alert!), Draco wanted Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

Eventully, they just decided that they would play three slow songs and four fast, and the rest would be requests.

However, it was still quite difficult, so they just divided up the songs and picked what they wanted. After another hour, the playlist consisted of:

Your Guardian Angel- Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Chasing Cars- Snow Patrol

Hot and Cold- Katie Perry

Funny Little Feeling- Rock and Roll Soldiers

What Gets You Off- Jack's Mannequin

Teenager Lobotomy- The Ramones

Draco poked Harry, who was falling asleep on the desk. "Oi, Potter. We need another song. Put on that blue one." Harry rolled his eyes. "Can you read the album cover, Draco? Honestly, I've got about 30 different_ blue _CD's, you numbskull." Draco rolled HIS eyes, and picked up the album, reading the cover as Harry commanded. "Coldplay." He announced. "Oh Draco, so glad to see that you can read!" Harry sarcastically said. "Put it on, numbskull."

Draco playfully shoved Harry off the chair in his bedchamber, relishing and savoring the moment when his hand touched Harry's lean chest. Then he leaned down, touching right beside his ear. Harry jumped, face scarlet. "Sorry," Draco whispered. "Just putting in the CD." Draco inserted the CD as slowly as he good, if only to be near Harry a moment longer, then drew back, pressing the play button as he did so.

Immediatley, the song Harry loved the most from the album came on, and Draco fell silent, stopping squirming.

_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry_

_You don't know how lovely you are_

_I have to find you, tell you I need you_

_Tell you I set you apart_

_Tell me your secrets and ask my questions_

_Oh, let's go back to the start_

_Running in circles_

_Coming our tails_

_Head on a silence apart_

_Nobody said it was easy_

_It's such a shame for us to part_

_Nobody said it was easy_

_No-one ever said it would be this hard_

_Oh, take me back to the start._

Harry fiddled with his hair, scared to be sharing such a personal and emotional song with Draco. He couldn't see Draco's face; he was looking at the floor, blond mop covering his face, head down and fingers spread across the dorms wooden floorboards.

_I was just guessing at numbers and figures_

_pulling the puzzles apart_

_questions of science_

_science and progress_

_did not speak as loud as my heart_

_tell me you love me_

_come back and haunt me_

_oh when i rush to the start_

_running in circles_

_chasing our tails_

_coming back as we are_

_nobody said it was easy_

_oh, it's such a shame for us to part_

_nobody said it was easy_

_no-one ever said it would be so hard._

_I'm going back to the start._

Harry looked back at Draco, who hadn't changed his position. The most emotional part of the song was on, and he couldn't help sniffling a bit at the it. Another song came on afterwards, and Draco still wasn't moving. Harry put a hand on his shoulder. He jumped, then croaked: "That one." Draco quickly wiped his eyes with his hands, and Harry could see that he was trying to cover up his tears, quite clumsily. "I have to go," He said, gathering himself and getting to his feet.

All Harry wanted to say was _Don't._

He let him go.

"See you tomorrow."

There was nothing Harry James Potter had ever wanted more then for tomorrow to come.

_Nobody said it was easy_

_No-one ever said it would be so hard_

_I'm going back to the start._


	3. Dancing Sick

Harry yawned. He had been up very late the previous night, wondering about Draco and awaiting the next day. In fact, he was so tired that at breakfast he proceeded to fall asleep into his cornflakes, much to the agony of Hermione, who had also woken up early to study for classes.

Hermione rolled her eyes, pulling a catonic Harry out of the milk by the back of his shirt . A michevous idea suddenly occured to her when she saw Draco brooding alone at the Slytherin table. She acted quickly, since years of hanging around with the clumsy Ron had given her training, and pulled out her chair, offering him the seat. Blearily, Draco sat down, neglecting to notice that he was at the Gryffindor table.

Draco started casually eating the bowl that appeared in front of him. He didn't notice Harry until he rolled onto his lap. Draco let out a sqeaul, swatting at Harry.

"Gack! Potter, gerroff! Ew ew ew!" He tugged on the back of Harry's shirt, careful to act as disgusted as he could, lest anyone in the hall see Potter lying on top of him. Wait a minute... he wasn't acting disgusted, he was... right? Draco sighed, as his efforts to awaken Harry proved futile. He left his hand on the back of Harry's neck, not quite ready to let go of the first physical contact he'd had in years. How many years had it been since his father hugged him? 5 or 6, at least. Possibly, it was on the day he left for Hogwarts. So... seven. Granted, Harry didn't even have that, but he did always have his friends.

Draco didn't. Of course, there was Crabbe and Goyle, but they were more his cronies then friends, and they had only ended up together because of their fathers professions: death eaters. He clung to Harry like he was his lifejacket in a storm. He had at least another twenty minutes until the other students started coming in, and he was going to savor every single minute of it. Just then, Harry shifted in his sleep. Draco shot back, as the small action had sent a bolt of electricty into his chest and right down to his toes. Unfortuantly, this now meant that Harry whacked his head against the bench and fell on the floor with a huge crash that echoes around the empty hall.

Draco scooted across the bench on his ass, peering with concern into Harrys face. When Harry opened his eyes mere miloseconds later, Draco was checking his body for broken bones and Harry, in his post sleep confusion, found himself reaching for Draco's hand, touching his collarbone to check for bruising. Dracos eyes widened. He hadn't expected Harry to do this... he'd known Potter wasn't a morning person, but using his hand as a teddy bear was just ridiculous. He yanked it away, pulling Harry out of his dazed state. "Uh... Potter!" He said nervously, searching for an excuse. "I was... uh, looking for you and- uh, yes! We need to decide on the food for the dance and order it tonight! McGonagall gave me a budget and... um...." His words trailed off as he saw Harry standing up, hair rumpled and in Draco's opinion, looking VERY sexy in post slumber. He yawned, then grabbed Draco's shirt to pull himself up.

His pinky finger brushed against Draco's chest, and even under the layer of his shirt, Draco felt himself turning red. Harry didn't seem to notice the awkwardness and said: "Well, we should look at some menus for catering. D'you have a computer?" Draco nodded. No-one other than him had ever been in his private bedchamber, and he was slightly odded out at the thought of Harry being the first. Harry still looked a bit dizzy, but Draco was sure it was from the sleep. "Alright, then. My bedchambers just through the dungeons."

When they reached his bedchamber (with a lot of moaning from Harry about how _bloody _far it was), Draco opened the door with a slam and turned on the brand new mac desktop in the corner with a certain sense of boredom, and motioned towards the bed in a somewhat polite gesture for Harry to sit. Harry drummed his fingers awkwardly against the green Slytherin bedpost as Draco pulled up the menu of a local bar. He scanned it, green eyes darting over the menu. He snorted. "Guess this is off the list."

"Why, Draco? Maybe everyone would like some normal food. Like, chips and butterbeer!"

Draco scoffed at Harry. "Chips? Potter, this is a formal event! We need real food! I'll check a proper catering service."

Harry put on a puppy dog face, looking up at Draco from his bed. "Butterbeer?"

Draco rolled his eyes at Harry, playfully rolling over to him and giving him a push. "Fine. But only since we're such good friends."

Harry played with the edge of the bedcover. "Yeah. I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I mean... what do you really think this is? I mean, we've never been like we are now. Sort of... I dunno, civil, almost."

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. I want it to keep going, I suppose." Draco had never been good at admitting what he felt, and even now, he felt the emotion in his sentence far too much. "I mean, whatever. I don't... I don't mind, I guess."

Harry grinned. "Good. Because I was going to ask you if you wanted to hang out at the Three Broomsticks tomorrow with me and Hermione. Ron is going to be at his mum's for Christmas. I know you don't like him much."

Draco peered at his face, trying to find the real Harry Potter behind the Lily Potters eyes. Finally, he said the words that he had been dying to say ever since Harry had grabbed his hand yesterday.

"Yes."

Harry poked him in the chest playfully. "Awesome." Suddenly, Harry got a strange feeling in his head.

"Ouch!" Draco's face contorted in alarm as Harry dropped back onto the bed, clutching his head. "Harry? Are you okay? Shall I go get Madame Pomfrey?" Draco asked nervously, grabbing Harry's shoulder. "My.. head... it hurts, Draco..." He moaned, tears coming to his eyes. Harry clutched Draco's hand, flung his head over the side of the bed, and retched, vomiting on the floor. Harry squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to look at the face of disgust he was sure that Draco wore. When he finally gathered the courage to open his eyes, he could see Draco already cleaning up the sick and dialing something on his cell phone. Through his feverish daze, Harry could hear Draco talking to Madame Pomfrey, telling her to come to his bedchamber, and shouting obcenitys at her when she told him he was currently treating another patient. "NO!" He shouted into the phone, almost scarily angry as he paced around the room. "YOU HAVE TO COME NOW! HE'S SICK, YOU NEED TO HELP HIM!" Finally, he learned that his efforts were worthless and sighing, pressed the end button.

Draco turned back to Harry. "I'm sorry." He said in a gentle voice that Harry was sure Draco Malfoy had never used before. "She's not coming. There's been a pretty violent Quidditch match, and she's treating people all over the place. She says it's probably just a concussion, you should eat and drink as much as possible, and that you should sleep, but I should wake you up every hour." Harry nodded weakly, sitting up with much effort. Draco draped the bed covers over him. "Do you want anything?" He asked, getting up to grab Harry a glass of water.

"No!" Harry whispered, grabbing Draco's wrist feebly. "Please, stay with me, Draco. Please...promise me."

Draco stood for a moment, thoughts running through his head. _He needs me... Harry Potter needs... no, __**wants**__ me! _ He nodded at last, whispering "I promise" and Harry let out a great sigh of relief, at peace. Harry proceeded to fall into a fitful sleep, clinging to Draco like a boat in the midst of a storm. When Draco tried to get a glass of water for him from the bathroom across the hall, Harry clung to his wrist tighter. Draco sighed, prising Harry out of his grip. He got halfway across the room before Harry started to moan in his feverish state, crying out. Draco ran back and held both his hands, but even that didn't seem to be enough. Reluctently, Draco crawled into bed beside him and held him from behind, which seemed to calm him down.

It was then that Draco realized he was going to need help. He sighed, taking out his phone and calling the one person who could actually help Harry...

Ten minutes later, Hermione Granger was standing in Draco's room with 3 bottles of water, 2 of gatorade, three packets of instant noodles, a kettle, a thermometer, a container of extra strength tylenol, one Quidditch magazine, and several cans of soup. Draco nodded gratefully at her, indicating that they should talk quietly as Harry was sleeping. Hermione's worried look instantly vanished when she saw the two boys cuddling together, replaced by a look of pure joy.

"So you... and him?" She whispered happily, setting down her stash and plugging a kettle into the wall. "Finally! I've known he needed someone for so long and-"

"Whoa!" Draco said, blushing. "Hold yer horses, Granger! He was just upset, that's all. I'm just comforting him!" He eased himself out of Harry's grip. Harry moaned, but as Draco held his hand, the look on his face became peaceful and he seemed to sleep a little bit better. "It's okay, Harry." He said quietly, stroking his hair and wincing at the heat of his head. "I'm here, okay?"

Hermione got the strangest look on her face. "What?" Draco sighed, feeling her gaze. "Nothing, just- you called him Harry. Why are you being so sweet to him, Draco?" She asked, pouring the water into a cup. The smell of tea instantly infused the room. Draco sighed again, running his hands through his hair. "I really... I really don't know. But thank you for being here."

She smiled at him, taking a sip of the cup and wincing as her tongue got burned. "No, thank you. I haven't seen Harry this sick in a while. And you're being so nice to him, too. I know that Ron has a certain grudge against you, but Harry's been talking about you a lot since yesterday. Are you coming tomorrow?"

He shook his head. Hermione looked crestfallen and a little angry, but Draco replied: "Not unless Harry's completly better. Because... because it was my fault! It's my fault that he's like this!" Draco burst into tears, and Hermione looked alarmed, but put an arm around him. "I... I pushed him away from me! I'm so stupid! And now he's sick!" He sobbed into Hermione's arm, whilst keeping a strong grip on Harry's hand.

"Who's sick?" Came a voice from Draco's left. "Other than me, of course. Can I have some water?"

"Harry!" Draco shouted, turning towards the bed. "Yeah, of course!" Draco hurried over to the table, fetching the bottle of water. Hermione smiled at Harry and said quietly "He's been really worried, you know. Crying, even. He thinks it's his fault, since he accidently pushed you off the bench."

Harry frowned. "But- it was an accident! He can't possibly-"

"He does."

Draco returned with the water, twisting off the cap eagerly and holding it to Harry's mouth. Harry tried to hold onto the bottle, but was still quite weak. Draco still looked quite concerned, and pressed the back of his hand against Harry's head. Harry smiled at the cool feeling and closed his eyes again, but spoke: "You know, Draco... it's not your fault." Draco frowned, taking his hand back. "Yeah. I guess not." He turned away to wipe the tears out of his eyes, emberassed. Hermione piped up "So, how do you feel? Do you want me to take your temperature?" Harry grinned. "Fine. Orally, if you please." She laughed, fetching the thermometer from the bottom of her bag. When she pulled it out seconds later, she frowned slightly. The she laughed in relief. "You're going to fine, I should think. 100 degrees and dropping even as I held it. It was probably quite mild, Harry."

Harry sniffed. "Oh, thanks. I'm hungry, though." Draco rolled his eyes. "At your service, King Harry."

Harry smiled. He knew that Draco had been holding his hand through his fever. He had felt it, his only grounding to the real world. He had felt it all through his dreams, and it had made him comforted. He smiled at Hermione and Draco talking about how much they hated raman, and how much better macaroni and cheese was, but how it was not fit to feed a sick person and he closed his eyes.

Well. This was nice. His best friend and his something possibly someone else something other than friends something more talking. He managed to croak up feebly before sleep took him again:

"But no stupid caviar, Draco. I'm not THAT much of a pushover and I'm not eating bloody fish eggs."

7 DAYS 'TILL THE DANCE!

Ah, sorry about the general shojoness and stereotypicalness of this chappie, but sickie Harry is just so cute. And guilty Draco, too!

Sorry about the lack of updates lately, with all my fics. *bows*

I'm so glad to hear that you like them, though! I'm writing this on an airplane. I'm extremly bored and have two hours left in my flight, so I'll keep writing. You might even get two updates! This one is very long anyways, so be grateful! XD

Sorry about the lack of UD's on the RTED fic. IT WILL BE UPDATED! I HAVE NOT GIVEN UP! I am resting, mmk? Also, I wrote a sequel to The Only Broken Ones, called I wuv you ickle Ronnikins! Which I've always wanted to name a fic! XDD luv y'all!


	4. Dancing While Angry

THIS STORY IS ON HIATUS UNTIL I GET 10 REVIEWS. Yeah, I know I'm pure evil. Reviews are coming slowly but surely, so I don't think this'll be a problem. This was posted before midnight so it's technically on timeee! I love you all, esp Rin5o. She's been AMAZING with story concepts and always comments. Be just like her 3

*hugs*

Harry Potter was in front of Hogwarts, shivering and rubbing up and down his arms. Jesus, it was freezing out here! He hadn't quite gotten over his cold yet, and still had a bottle of Advil in his pocket. The subject of the cold brought up the thought of Draco. How Draco had been so sweet to Harry... how he had carried him back to his dorm after he had fallen asleep, how he had fed him ramen in bed, how he had insisted Harry wear his pajamas, how he was in front of Harry at the moment, with a well packed snowball in one green mitten clad hand and a michevous smile...

WHOMP! Harry was livid. Face covered in snow, he grabbed a handfull from the ground and thrust it into Malfoy's face, but he merely sidestepped it, laughing. "Ooh..." Harry growled at him, packing a snowball, but by the time it was finished, Draco had already hit him in the back with another one. Damn! The snake was too fast! Harry's hotheaded nature got the best of him, and he tackled Malfoy, bringing him to the ground. Both boy's let out an "Oof!' as they hit the snow, sending up a layer of powder. Harry was lying on top of Malfoy, blushing. Their legs were entwined, and the slightest movement sent a spark up both spines. All they had to do was move forward a small bit, and they would be...

Malfoy was the first to snap back to his senses, shoving Harry off and laughing awkwardly. Harry tried not to show his hurt expression as he asked Draco: "So, any further thoughts on the food?" Draco nodded, trying to stay away from Harry as much as possible. But jesus, with his hair mussed up like that and his cheeks flushed- "Ye-yeah!" He blurted, walking clumsily and tripping over his own feet. "I thought- well, only 50 students are coming. No-one else could come, since many people go home for the holidays and lots of people couldn't afford tickets. We could make our own food! It'd be cheaper, we could get Granger and Weasley to help, and it'd be fun." Harry's eyes lit up. "I love cooking!" He smiled, head to one side.

"I used to do it all the time at my aunt and uncles! That's a great idea, Draco!"

He threw an arm around him and squeezed. Draco turned red and mumbled "Oh, it's not a big deal, I just-" Harry shrugged. "It's a good idea, so don't be shy. Oh, look! Hogsmeade!" Draco visibly relaxed. Granger would be here, and the tension between him and Harry wouldn't get any worse. Anyways, he was probably just lonely. He wasn't gay- was he? Harry interupted his thoughts, grasping his arm. "Oh, there's Hermione! Hi!" He waved to her, then said to Draco "Come on!" and proceded to drag him across the street, waving frantically at Hermione all the while.

Hermione greeted them at the door with a worried "It's packed, but there's a table there." Harry speed walked to it, pulling out the chair for Draco, who blushed and sat. Hermione raised an eyebrow at this behavior, but said nothing about it, choosing to query about the food instead. Once they told her, she leant back in her chair, pondering. "I guess that would be better than using house elves..." Draco slapped his head. "DOH! Didn't even think of-" The look on Hermione's face told him to not continue if he wanted to keep his left testicle. He did. He shut up.

Harry nudged Draco's foot under the table by accident, making him jump. He hit his knee on the top of the table and swore. Hermione looked at him oddly, then shook her head and signaled to the bartender for three butterbeers. "So," She asked, leaning over the table. "What food are you planning on making?" The boys looked at each other. "Uhm." "Hadn't really thought of it yet..."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Wait-" Harry said, eyes lighting up. "Can we make strawberry shortcake cupcakes?" Draco sighed. "Sure. But I get to pick the rest of the menu." Harry pouted, but accepted it. "Fine." Just then, the drinks arrived. Each of the trio grabbed one, and downed it in several minutes. Once the three were done, Draco took out a pen from a passing waitress's pocket (an action which Hermione frowned at) and wrote down something on a napkin. He then shoved it at Harry, who read it.

_Fetticine Alfredo w/ chicken_

_Greek Salad_

_Fruit Punch_

_Pretzels_

_Candies_

_Shortcake cupcakes (?)_

_Spring Rolls_

Harry smiled. "It's an odd combination, but I like all these things. They should be pretty easy to make!" Draco grinned at him. "I'll find recipes tonight on the computer. It's no trouble." "Thanks, Draco!" "No problem!" Hermione watched the exchange with a look of extreme interest on her face, cutting in and adding: "I'm going to go back now. I promised I'd meet Ron at the gates when he got back. Have fun!" She left the table, waving at them from the exit. Draco snorted. "Did she think we were going to make out if she left us alone?"

Harry blushed at the subtle gay suggestion, then picked up his bottle sullenly. "No. She left us with the tab." Draco laughed heartily. "Typical Granger." Harry stared at Draco, making him ask, "What?"

"Why do you do that? Only refer to people by their last name?"

Draco ran his hands through his hair, sighing. "Truthfully, it's a way of keeping from getting close to people. Only when I'm emotionally attached to someone do I call them by their first name."

"I-I see. How many people have you called by their first name?"

Pause.

"None, Potter." It popped out before Draco could stop himself, and he covered his mouth with his hands as if it would stop what he had said. Harry's brows furrowed in anger, and he raised his hands. "Well. FINE! I guess you aren't close to me! Yesterday was just you not wanted me to throw up in your bed again, huh, jerk?!?"

Draco blinked in surprise. How had such a perfect day gone so horribly wrong? "I- No, I-" Harry steamed out the door, fuming. "Jerk." He muttered, slamming the door behind him and upseting a group of second years chatting there.

Draco gaped at his retreating back until Rosmerta put a hand on his shoulder. "Uh, your friends didn't pick up the tab... you're gonna get it?"

Harry was still storming away from the castle, tears streaming down his face. He angrily wiped them away, sniffling. Jerk. After the previous day, when Draco had comforted Harry so well, after the emotional song and after the hug, Draco was still an asshole. That would never change. Damn, why was this bugging him so much then? God, he hated the way that Malfoy made him feel... but he loved it at the same time. Much like Draco himself. Shit. He needed Hermione. He spotted her at the gate, then ran towards her.

"Hermione-" He choked out, then simply ran into her hug, sobbing. The concerned look on her face was very deep, rivaled only by the confused one. However, the confusion would have to wait. She stroked his hair and rocked him, much like a baby. "Did he break your heart?"

"Sorta. I- I like him a lot. And he despises me-" Harry sobbed into her sleeve, wetting the entire thing. Hermione stifled a giggle. She couldn't interfere with this, she knew that much... but Draco Malfoy did not despise Harry by any means. She couldn't do anything, so she just held him until his tears subsided and he stopped hiccuping.

Hermione really is smart, huh? Y'all got a good long update. I'm getting better updating! Woo! I'm on time with this! Tom, 100 chappie fic is updated. Look forward to it, dudes.


	5. Dancing With A Friend

It's amazing how much you all reviewed when I bribed ya. Gotta remember that for future chapters... *eyes gleam* Well, since you've all been asking for it, two updates today! Yays!

Harry was sulking in his bedroom. God, couldn't the blond just say what he wanted, what he felt? He didn't understand Draco; granted, that didn't mean he didn't lo- like him. Ron had asked him what was wrong, but he didn't really want to talk about it, certainly not to Ron. who wouldn't understand what he was feeling at all. He sighed, sweeping his dark hair off his head. Why did things have to be so difficult? Couldn't Draco just be his friend and possibly something more?

Draco Malfoy was bolting up the stairs to the school, taking them three at a time and panting. He had to apologize to Harry. Damn, why didn't he think before he opened his big fat mouth? He spotted Hermione around a corner, and waved to her. "Hermione," He gasped, hands on his knees. "Harry, where is-"

"Up in his bedchamber. Password is Sir Cadogan." She looked at him reproachfuly. "He's really upset, you know." He bolted off again, yelling "I know!"

By the time he reached the common room, he was getting quite a few stares and dirty looks. He didn't care, though. All he wanted to do at the moment was apologize to the man he lov-

Okay, he would think about THAT after he found Harry. He asked Seamus "Where's Harry?" Seamus gawped and pointed in the direction of his bedchamber, eyes blank. "Thanks!" Draco shouted, running up the stairs **four **at a time. When he reached the door, he actually had to think about what he was going to say. Obviously, I'm sorry wasn't going to cut it. He'd just pretty much told Harry he wasn't close to him or anyone else. Sighing, he knocked softly on the door.

Harry heard him outside. He didn't want to talk to him. Or anyone. "GO AWAY!" He shouted, tears coming to his eyes. Silence. Then, "Please. I just want to talk, please... let me in." Harry snorted. "Draco, you hate me, remember?"

Draco swallowed, knowing that nothing could be farther from the truth. He wanted to say what came to his mind, but as a child, he had been taught not to lie. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, then blurted out: "I don't. And I'm not leaving until you open the door." "Well, I'm not. So you'll be there a while." He pressed his forehead against the door, tears leaking from his eyes and a unfarmiliar rising in his throat. "Please." He choked out. He didn't care if the entire school was watching him. He just wanted the door to open.

Harry was sobbing now, wringing his hands. "I can't! I'm scared..."

"Of what?"

"Being left behind, being hated, being forgotten... I don't want to go back to that time!"

For the first time in seven years, Draco was crying. Really crying. Like, tears running down cheeks, dripping on the ground crying. "I promise, I won't let you."

Pause.

"Harry." The word fell from his lips and it felt good to say it. Very good. It tasted saltier than the tears on his chin, but in a good way. "Harry..." He whispered.

Harry opened the door a couple hours later. He should probably go and find Draco now. He had been trying to open the door the whole time, but something was holding him back. He wanted Draco to feel how much he had hurt him. The Slytherin needed to know that he liked him a lot and that he had been pretty cruel. When he opened the door, what he saw astounded him. Draco was sleeping on the ground, face up, arms thrown around himself.

Harry didn't think. he didn't want to. He found his finger reaching out and wiping the tears from Draco's eyes. Draco opened his eyes blearily at the touch, and smiled. "You forgive me, Harry?" Harry hugged him impulsively. "Y-yeah."

"Good." He said, hugging him back. "Because you don't have to be scared anymore. I'll protect you."

And that's where they stayed for the rest of the day, reveling in the silence that comes when there is so much to say and not enough words to say it in.

DAW. Um. changing my schedule. Working really hard to get this done-ish. Putting the 100 chap story on hiatus. I might have to change it to a different story. It's very crack fic style right now. My Tulio and Miguel story is going to get back on track, I swear.

If y'all like, chu know what to do!


	6. Dancing In the Water

Harry kept whistling the next day. Unfortuantly, he was really bad at whistling, so all he managed to produce was a sort of half assed high pitched sqeal, much to the annoyance of Ron. Ron, already in a bad mood after Hermione and him had gotten into an argument, suddenly couldn't take it anymore and turned to Harry, slamming his glass on the table. "Why are you so happy, mate? And knock it off, you're going to give my a bloody brain anyerisum." Harry shrugged. "Sorry. And I'm happy because... well..." Ron gave him a micheivous grin. "Ginny and you..." Harry's eyes widened. "N-NO! Nothing happened, we just-" The thought of doing something like that with Draco Malfoy made him shudder.

Ron poked at his food, still grinning. "Whatever, mate." Harry shook his head, looking at the floor. "Look, Ron..." He said softly, staring at his Converse like they were the most interesting things in the world. "It's... it's not Ginny. It's... uhm. It's a boy." Ron took a drink of his orange juice nonchalantly. "Um, Ron? I've just told you I'm gay and you're being rather matter of a fact about it." Ron shook his head, smiling at Harry. "It is matter of a fact. I don't care. You're my best mate, and I just want what makes you happy. My older brother's gay, Charlie. My family doesn't care about that. If we didn't, we'd be rather bad muggle supporters. Y'know, equality and all that? Does Hermione know?"

He nodded. He felt a sudden rush of affection for Ron and threw his arms around him, knocking his orange juice over. Hermione looked upon them with disdain, then shook her head and began cleaning up the floor. Ron sputtered at first, but relaxed into the hug. "As long as it's not that bloody wanker Malfoy." He said, pulling back. Harry's eyes widened. "So, who is it, mate?" Ron asked, helping himself to more scrambled eggs. "Neville, Seamus, Dean?"

Harry stood up so fast that he knocked over Ron's second glass of orange juice. "I have to go. I'll- I'll see you." He ran off in the direction of the grounds. Hermione glared at Ron. "Y'know, he's not so bad, Draco. He took care of Harry a lot when he was sick." Ron conjured a third glass of orange juice and took a sip. "Hermione, his family and mine have been feuding for centuries. I don't like him, okay? Drop it."

Meanwhile, Harry was running over the grounds, dropping to his knees every few seconds because of the deep snow. All the while, Ron's words kept running through his head._ "As long as it's not that bloody wanker Draco-" "Bloody wanker." "As long as..." _ Harry came to the dock, frozen over because of the recent rain. He wanted to step on it, which would be incredibly stupid. He put one foot on it. He wanted to jump off. He didn't want it to be this hard anymore.

"HARRY!!!" He heard the voice and felt the hands pulling him back, but all he saw was the lake until he blacked out. Even then, it haunted his dreams, giving him nightmares. When finally he awoke in a cold sweat, he was lying in the entrance, Draco Malfoy sitting next to him, head down. "Draco?" Harry croaked. "What..." Draco's head lifted up and he looked at Harry, wide eyed. "Harry..." Suddenly, Draco punched Harry across the face. "OUCH!" Harry shouted. "What the hell was that for?" Draco burst into tears and buired his head in Harry's chest, pounding it with a fist. "You're an idiot, Harry! What the FUCK were you doing? You're an asshole! Don't fucking scare me like that!" Harry stood up, wincing a bit. "But I'm fine. I didn't jump, did I?"

"No," Draco said curtly, wiping the tears from his eyes quickly. "But you're still an idiot." He grabbed Harry's hand and pulled himself up. "Thanks..." He murmured. God, Harry wanted to kiss him right there and then. His blond hair mussed, gray eyes magically turned bright bright blue, lips slightly parted. He actually leaned forward, but the feeling in the pit of his stomach stopped him from leaping into the cold water. Harry shook his head as if he could shake the very thought of kissing Malfoy from it. "So... about the dance, then. What else do we need to plan?"

The boys worked on the dance. They worked on it hard. Over the next four days, they worked their butts off. Between homework and the plans, Harry often fell asleep in Draco's dorm when they were working on a guest list or menus. One time, Draco had gotten close enough to kiss him, but risked nothing more then a quick stroke of his hair and then covered him with a blanket.

Dammit, Draco was getting close to him, falling for him. He'd never been able to talk to someone about so much. He trusted Harry, and it made him nervous. He was surprised to find that after spending some time with her, he even liked Hermione. He was becoming the person that his father warned him about becoming, and goddamit, he loved every single FUCKING moment of it.

Harry was right there too. Both boys in a does he like me doesn't he thing, hating and loving every minute.

The afternoon before the dance, both boys were excused from classes to make the food for the dance. They had bought food the day before, which was extremely fun. Draco did a Queen rendition in the middle of the supermarket and slid right down the damn aisle. He was such a dork once you got to know him, but Harry... Harry really loved him. He did.

Sorry to end it here, guys! Know y'all wanted an update, so I'm giving you a cliffhanger. And GUESS WHAT? YEP, THAT'S RIGHT. I'MA BRIBE YOU AGAIN. Sorry, sorry sorry! If i get 20 reviews, I'll continue the story. If I get 25 reviews, I will add a bonus chapter about Harry and Draco flirting in the grocery store. It should be fun to write! Love y'all and shorry for bribing chu!


	7. Dancing With Someone You Love

Here we are... the night of the dance! Thanks to everyone for reading this far. I love you all! You might want to listen to MCR's I don't love you, because I sorta wrote this chapter around that song.

Harry slung his bag over his shoulder, glad to be out of his potions class early. Snape had shot him a death glare as he left, but he was rid of him and that was something to be happy about. The messy haired youth made his way to the kitchen, where Draco was waiting, groceries in hand. "Sorry I'm late! Snape kept asking me questions and I could only-" Draco calmly held up a hand. "Shh. It's fine. You're here now." Harry blushed and started quickly removing eggs from the bag. "What are we going to make first?" Draco shrugged. "I figured we should make the salad first. It's easy and we can just put it in the fridge." Harry smiled, reaching behind Draco to grab the lettuce and brushing his wrist accidentily on purpose against his back.

Draco's heart skipped a beat. It took all his willpower to not turn around and kiss Harry as hard as he could. He had to surpress the urge. Draco opened his mouth, deciding that talking would be the best way to get away from touching Harry in any way. "So... are you excited for the dance?" Harry grinned, tearing the lettuce into small pieces. "Yeah! It might be a little awkward for us to dance together, though."

Draco shrugged, trying to control the heavy beating of his heart. "Why?"

Harry stopped tearing the lettuce apart and set it down. He turned towards Draco. "Because we're both guys?" Draco couldn't believe what he was doing, but he tilted Harry's chin up to look Draco in the eyes. Green met blue and the feel of Draco's delicate fingers burned Harry's skin. "That doesn't matter." Harry struggled to make himself move away, but found himself falling deeper into twin pools. "A week ago, we were enemies." He said softly, touching the side of Draco's shoulder to steady himself, to make sure that this was real. "So..." Draco said breathily. He shouldn't do what he was about to do...

Harry felt Draco's body so close to his, and his energy, and made one last ditch attempt at sanity. "I love you, and you don't love me." Draco grabbed Harry's face, making it level with his own, eye to eye, Draco leaning back on the counter and Harry on top of him. "Couldn't be farther from the truth." He said simply, then kissed him softly on the lips.

Harry didn't want anything else, not ever. As simple and clean as the kiss was, he didn't think he could ever want anything more than having his hands clutched in Draco's shirt, feeling his strong body all around him. It was like the worst and best drug he had ever had, and the very emotion brought tears to his eyes, streaking his face. Draco pulled back, much to Harry's chagrin, and wiped the tears from Harry's eyes with a single finger, smiling and shaking slightly, weak legged. "I've been wanting to do that for you don't even know how long."

"Draco..." A voice hissed from the doorway and Harry's heart sank. He knew who that voice belonged to. Lucuis Malfoy. "You are doing something completley vulgar here," The blond man said, walking into the room. "And you shall be punished." He sneered, grabbing Draco by the collar. "You have five minutes to _finish _here. Come out and see me afterwards." Draco looked as if he had just been hit in the head, still clutching Harry's shirt. Then he snapped back to his senses and SHOVED Harry back, across the room. Harry's head snapped back adn he sprawled against the counter.

"Potter," He sneered. "Don't ever try anything that FUCKING common with me. You're an filthy commoner and I could never feel anything but hate for you. Maybe I was confused, but my head is clear now and I have remembered that I hate you."

Harry blinked, head aching. He was going to cry, he was sure of it. But before he could, his hot headed nature got the best of him, and he grabbed Draco by the collar, and pulled him up. "Fuck you." He said quietly, more frightening and dangerous than if he had been yelling. "Fuck you, Malfoy. I'm sick of your little come here go away game, so go fuck yourself. I don't fucking care what we're supposed to be doing."

Malfoy shoved Harry's hands off him. "I hate you."

He left.

Harry dropped to his knees. The cold floor seeped through his jeans and dampended his heart. He didn't care. _My heart is bleeding, but I can't cry._

_It's like he took the part of me that held emotion._

_Would you have the guts to say... I don't love you like I loved you ..._

_Yesterday._

Thanks everyone for reading this far. Next chapter will be posted either today or tomorrow. And don't worry, it's got a happy ending.

Woo, D/ H smuuuutt!


	8. Not Dancing at All Intermission

Okay, I'ma bitch, mmk?

I know that I've been behind in promised updates lately. I'm just pretty frustrated as there are over 2000 views on this fanfiction, and about 10 people have commented, some doing so over and over. While I love and thank those people, the others I'm a little disapointed in. I realize that you have your own lives, but so do I. I take time out of my schedule to write, and I don't get anything but the satisfaction of knowing I made people happy from it. So, please. It takes you under 3 minutes to write a review, and me about 30 or 40 to write a fanfiction. You do the math. I'm not going to bribe you anymore, but IT REALLY IS NICE WHEN YOU REVIEW. Thanks,

Eve

Plus, I'm sorry I wrote the word faggot. For the record, I don't think that it's ever okay to call someone that, but Lucuis might say something like that.

...

Harry wanted to kill himself. He wouldn't, shouldn't, and couldn't, but he wanted to. He hated this game he was playing, and he hated Draco Malfoy and his stupid father. His head was getting cold, and lying on a tiled floor was not a good idea, but he wanted to do it. And when Hermione found him and told him that she would do the cooking later, he still didn't move. Ron had to drag him up to his room, because he felt that his legs would no longer work. And when he lay in his bed, knowing that he would have to see Draco Malfoy again in several hours, he wanted to go back to the day 16 years ago and just be killed and not- not have to think about Draco fucking Malfoy anymore.

Draco wanted to kill his father. His face hurt from the slaps he had endured, and he could no longer stand, so he fell to his knees, sobbing. "Dad, please- I'm not, I'm not-" Lucuis sneered at him, face cruel. "Don't flatter yourself, Draco. I won't touch you any longer." Lucuis didn't seem to care that they were in an abandoned classroom. "You're no son of mine. Do not call me your father, you disgusting faggot." He swished out of the room, taking extra care to tread on Draco's hands. Draco couldn't move. The pain, both emotional and physical, was too much. So he just lay there, listening to the treading of feet. "Draco?" A female voice echoed, and he tried to sit up, blood trickling down his chest. "Er-ermion!" He croaked. Hermione ran into the room and gasped at Draco's lifeless form, before draping her cloak around him and hugging him.

"You're horrible, and had you not just been beaten on, I would so totally punch you." She said, moping up his face with a conjured washcloth. He winced. "Sorry." She stopped. "You need to aplogize to him, you arse." Draco put his head down and tried to stand, getting up rather well, but obviously in pain. "I know. This is how it's going to work, isn't it? I fuck up, and then I make it better. I call that torture."

She smiled, thinking of Ron. "I call it love."

He held her arm, limping towards the door. "Alright, let's go get my man."

Harry was getting dressed for the dance. There was nothing that he wanted to do less, but heartbreak wasn't going to stop him. He was NOT going to think about that fucker Draco Malfoy. Ron was right, he was a wanker. Ron- oh christ. Ron knew, didn't he? Hermione must've told him. He turned around to face him. "Ron- you know that..." Ron came over, and surprisingly, hugged him. "Yeah. I know about you and Malfoy." Harry was astounded by the gesture, but hugged him back.

"Thank you." He whispered. Ron smiled. "I don't care if you love Draco. Let's just say if you're the man I love most in the world, and you're the man he loves most in the world, we can get along." Harry's eyes widened and he pulled back. "Do you really think?" He asked. "Yes," Ron said simply. "I think that he loves you. And I think that you love him. So, I want you to go to the dance."

And so he did. Half an hour later, Harry was shyly dancing with Ron and Hermione. His heart was beating about a million miles an hour, and he both wanted to see Draco and didn't at the same time.

Draco was going to make this better. He was going to open the door, and he was going to kiss Harry Potter, and he was going to fix everything.

Some things take a certain type of courage. Not the kind you need to hurt someone, fight a battle, or win a war. The most rare and unusual type of courage: the type it takes to say I'm sorry and mean it more than anything on earth.

Draco Malfoy took a deep breath. This was what it was. Wanting to be with someone so much it hurt. That was the thought that let him turn the doorknob in front of him.

(_________________________________________________________)

Sorry this was so short! Hey, least you got an update. I'm on a bit of a kick. I can't really believe that we're so close to the end. There'll be two more chapters, and I can see myself finishing them today, so check back if you can. I really need you guys to review, however. About 10 out of a thousand people have, and that's nowhere near enough. Please review, it takes you about thirty seconds.


	9. Dancing With The Person I Love

I listened to Over My Head by the Fray while writing, so you might want to get an idea of the chappie by listening to that song.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed~~~

This is the penultimate chapter. Next to last. Pretty goddamn eptastic, ne? Okay, here's the thing: I've got two bonus chapters that I want to write, and the eptastic last one. So, I think we should have a contest. Whoever wins the contest gets to read my bonus chapters and the last chapter first. If you have ideas, send me a message please. Don't tell me in reviews.

Well, here it is.

Seeing Harry after he had mistreated him so badly was painful to Draco. Physically painful. All he wanted to do was kiss him again, but something had to be said for taking it slow. And christ, it didn't help that Harry was so attractive. He was perfect in every way, and Malfoy couldn't help himself from walking over to him. Ron and Hermione looked at each other, then nodded and departed. Harry looked at him, wide eyed. "I didn't think you'd come." He whispered. Draco sighed, running his fingers through his blonde hair. "Neither did I. We need to talk. On the balcony?" Harry nodded, going to take his hand, then thinking better of it and drawing back.

Draco stepped out into the cold night air, breathing it in. It pierced his lungs, but it felt good. He took a few more, to clear his head, then spoke: "It's a nice night, isn't it?" Harry muttered a quiet yes, then turned away. "C'mon, Harry. What's wrong?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "This is not what I expected, Malfoy. This is not how I ever expected things to turn out."

"That doesn't have to be a bad thing, Harry." Draco said quietly. "I didn't expect to fall in love with you at all." Harry flushed slightly at the word love, but got his bearings and whipped around. "I'm tired of you thinking that you can step on me! I'm tired of you taking me for granted! I'm tired of being hurt! But most of all, I hate people leaving! And you were going to, you almost did!" He yelled, tears coming to his green eyes. "You played these sick and twisted games with me, and I'm sorry to say it, but I liked them! I liked you! And you- you lied to me. You lied. You said that you love me. Twice now. You lied, and I hate you. So just leave me alone, and go back to your father." He whispered, the power leaving him. "Just leave me. It's not what you want, and it's not what I want, but I think it's best."

The words physically hurt Draco. "I'm not lying, Harry." He touched Harry's shoulder. "I swear that I'm not."

"Why." Draco rested his head on Harry's back, feeling his back move as he asked the question. "Why did you fall in love with me. I want to know." Draco sighed. "Harry James Potter. Why did I fall in love with Harry James Potter." He drew back and sat down, and Harry sat beside him, head in hands. "Because you eat your pancakes funny. You cut them into pieces, and you put them around the edge, and then you dip them in the syrup in the middle."

"I fell in love with you because you would kill to get Ron and Hermione to go on a date. Because you care about them." He wasn't having a hard time telling Harry this. Each and every word he was speaking were the truest he ever had. "I fell in love with you because you are painfully attractive and you don't know it." He put his hand on Harry's knee, and although he could tell that Harry wanted to jerk it back, he let it stay. "I fell in love with you because you secretly like Abba and you'd never admit it."

Harry put his hand over Draco's. "I fell in love with you because you're so cute when you're trying to remember something." Draco stroked his hair, kissing the top.

"But most of all." He paused. "Most of all, I fell in love with you because you need me. And I want to be there. To protect you. To protect you from people who want to hurt you. I want to save you. I want to be your family. I want-" He cupped Harry's head in his hands, looking into his eyes.

"Harry. I just- I just want you. That's all I need, that's all I'll ever want. So.. you can walk out of here, but I think you know- that I'll never do anything to hurt you again. Because- because I love you more than anyone else in th-" Draco's words were cut off by a pair of lips. Harry's. It wasn't a sweet and simple kiss, but they weren't making out either.

It was somewhere... something in between.

Harry drew back first. "Wow-" Draco breathed. Harry giggled, resting his head against Draco's. "Yeah." Draco laughed. "I don't think I've ever been happier in my entire life." He said softly, stroking Harry's hair. "Me neither, heh."

Harry looked up the night sky. A song playing over the speakers found their way to the couple, twisting around them. "Draco?" "Yes, Harry?" "I think I've found it."

"What have you found, love?"

"Someone worth living for." He turned to Draco. "I was going to kill myself, you know. I was. My friends can only do so much. I was going to. But you found me, and I found someone who would comfort me. Someone to understand me and love me. And it was you." He squeezed his hand.

"It's you, it's always been you. Because- I have to say it now, don't I? Because, well, I love you. You're weird and secretive and sometimes mean, but I love you anyways. And isn't that what it's all about? Loving someone in spite of what happens, because of what they do to you." Draco realized that the song was Coldplay, and it was...

_Nobody said it was easy._

Draco smiled. "I fell in love with you during this song." He said softly. "And he speaks the truth, ne?" Harry nodded. "It's not easy, but it's worth the effort." He rested his head on Draco's shoulder.

"Care to dance?"

_But no-one ever said it would be so hard..._

_I'm going back to the start._

(________________)

LES DAWWWWS! YAY! I have a couple ideas for the contest, but please give me suggestions! Having a contest is fun, ne? Didja like the chapter? SEND ME A MESSAGE ABOUT THE CONTEST PLEASE! YAYS!

By the way, the way that Harry eats pancakes is the same as my brother. My brother also holds a secret love for Abba. It's adorable to hear him singing Dancing Queen then try to cover it up. And I'm not in love with my older brother, so get cher minds out of the gutter.


	10. The Last Dance

So here we are, at the end.

I want you to tell me what you think, okay?

I'm really going to miss writing this fic. I've gotten attached to the charactors, as though they were mine, and I am, I really am going to miss them.

So... here it goes.

Harry didn't think that he could or would ever be happier than he was at that moment. Dancing with the man he loved beneath the moonlight. And then, somehow, it got better. Hermione and Ron, holding hands, joined them and began to dance as well. Harry smiled, locking hands with Hermione, and put his head into Draco's shoulder, nuzzling. He didn't have to choose between the two anymore. Then Ron twirled Hermione around and into Draco's arms, and took Harry's hand. Harry laughed as Ron tried and failed to dip him, and the boys ended up squishing each other. Draco snorted at Ron's clumsiness, and expertly twirled Hermione around, ending with a proper dip. She giggled, then went to Harry, pulling him up and slow dancing with him. Ron and Draco danced awkwardly for a few minutes, both blushing and doing a sort of weird tango thing. Finally, Harry ran back to Draco and kissed him full on the lips, Ron and Hermione holding hands and watching on.

She squeezed his hand. "That's what love is, right?" Ron smiled at her, stroking her cheek and making her blush. "The exact definition, 'mione." They kissed, and both couples swayed on the spot, wanting to make the moment last forever. Draco swiftly turned, which Harry found a bit odd. When they finally parted, Draco gasped and fell to his knees. "C'mon Draco, it wasn't that good." Harry laughed, dropping to be beside him. He heard the slight crack of a gunshot in the distance. "Draco? Draco!" He yelled urgently, pushing him onto his back. "Shit!" Blood seeped from Draco's chest, and he looked up at Harry with pleading eyes. "Sorry, Harry." He moaned, closing his eyes.

Ron swore. "Fuck! Who did this? I'm going to- fuck!" He spun around, and the sight that he saw frightened him to no end. Lucuis Malfoy was holding a smoking gun, grinning sickly at him. "Hello, children." He said quietly.

Things got a bit hazy after that. Harry dimly remembered, even years later, Hermione screaming, and the sound of Ron's body dropping to the ground. And laughing. He heard laughing coming out of Lucuis's cruel mouth. But he did not hear himself crying, or his voice whispering Draco's name on repeat. And then there was silence, nothing. Nothing. White noise, nothing.

And when he woke, Hermione was sitting beside him and crying, holding his hand. It took effort to move his mouth, but he did, and he croaked: "Where?" She sniffled. "Hos-hospital. You and Ron, and- and Draco!" A fresh bout of sobs exploded from her, and she shook. Harry sat straight up. "Draco? Hermione, what happened to Draco?" She didn't answer, crying instead. "WHERE IS HE?" He screamed, shaking her. "He... he's recovering from his operation." She sobbed. "Will he be okay?" Harry asked urgently. She started to scream. "I don't know! They won't tell me anything, and I'm scared, I'm so scared!" She burst into tears again. Harry hugged her tight as he could, rocking her back and forth. "Where's Ron?" He asked.

"Beside you." She sniffled. "He got hit with a nasty curse, but he should be okay." Harry turned his head to look at him. His face was unusually pale and his eyes were closed, but he looked okay. Harry rubbed his head. It ached. "And- me? Do I still have legs?" Hermione laughed shakily. "Yeah. You got hit with a stunning curse by Lucuis, and you passed out from the stress, but you're okay."

A doctor came into the room. "Hello, Mr Potter." He smiled. "How are you feeling?" He set down his clipboard and sat beside him. Harry shook his head. "Fine, but how's Draco?" The doctor frowned slightly. "He's fallen into a light coma. I'd let you see him, but you're obviously in no condition to." Harry grabbed the doctor's collar and pulled him up to look into his face. "YOU ARE TALKING TO HARRY POTTER HERE." He sneered. "I have defeated Voldemort twice, once when I was a baby, and I have survived and eluded him fourteen years. So you can just let me see my fucking boyfriend for twenty minutes!" The doctor shrugged, sweating slightly. "Alright, Mr. Potter. If you think you can walk, he's in the room next to us. But don't exert yourse-"

Harry was already out of his bed and at the door. "Thanks." He muttered. He raced to the next room, and spotted Draco in the bed, eyes closed. Even in sleep, he was so beautiful. Harry couldn't resist kissing him softly on those beautiful lips before he sat down. His eyelids fluttered, the action bringing tears to Harry's eyes. He took his hand. "Um, should I talk?" He asked, and when he didn't get an answer, he assumed it to be a yes. "Okay." He said quietly. "First of all, I'm sorry. I'm the one that made your father do this to you, and I'm pretty sure he intended to shoot me tonight. I think you stepped in front of the gun for me." He took a deep breath. "And it breaks my heart to have someone care about me so much. It makes me feel so amazing that you chose me, chose to love me."

He sighed. "And I love you too. I want you to wake up very much. So that I can kiss you again. Wake up, Draco. Because I want to talk about our life together, I want to remember it with you. When I first took your hand, when you first said that you cared about me. Snowball fights," He smiled at the memory. "You taking care of me. You being there for me, and kissing me and making it better. And-" He knuckled his eyes to stop the tears from falling, but couldn't help the sob that fell. "And it aches, it hurts in my heart every moment that I know that I've done this to you. And I'm so sorry. So, please. Wake up, because I want to make new memories together. I want to see Ron and Hermione get married and have kids, I want to be an Auror, I want to go to my parent's grave. And I want you to be beside me every single step of the way, Draco!"

He burst into tears, burying his head into Draco's chest. "I want to marry you!" He whispered. "I want you to be my husband someday, because I want to be with you the rest of my life and I've never felt like this before! Like one person could do something so strange and incredible to me! So wake up..."

"Because I love you."

_I am walking through the empty halls of Hogwarts. The stone hallways should be cold, but somehow even though I am naked, they are not. I come to the bridge that crosses between the buildings, and I stand in the middle. "Draco..." I hear a voice at the opposite end. It is nothing but black and emptiness, and I feel as though I should go towards it. I dimly hear words, but I don't want to feel them._

_Memories together_

_You beside me_

_I want.. I want_

_Strange and incredible_

_I am almost at the blackness and I don't want to turn around but somehow I hear the words and they pierce me. _

_I love you_

_And something way at the back of my mind goes iloveyoutoo and i am rushing, rushing out out out into the sky and Harryharryharry please please wake me up_

Draco blearily opened his eyes, and felt Harry's tears soaking the front of his shirt. "Harry..." He croaked, stroking his hair. Harry looked up, eyes full of wetness. "Draco!" He shouted, and he winced. "Sorry." He whispered. "I was. I was just really really scared you wouldn't wake up." Draco smiled. "Why'd you even doubt me? Why would I die when I have heaven right here?" He leaned his head up, lips begging. Harry kissed him, tear tracks etching both boys faces.

When they parted, Harry grinned, and rested his head on Draco's shoulder. "So, did you take that bullet for me?" Draco looked out the window. A brand new day was beginning, and the sun was rising. It painted the sky with red, pink, and orange. Draco knew that the new day might bring sadness, and anger, but it could also bring love, and peace. And new hopes, and chances, and laughter.

Someday, he would die. But until that day, he would savor every single moment.

And that day was not today.

Draco stroked Harry's head, smiling at a weak looking Ron and a teary Hermione in the doorway.

"I'll never tell."

The End.

Please review my story! There will be two more chapters, bonus ones! And I might do a sequel if enough people ask. I have given up on the contest though : )

It's really sorta over? *sniffle*


	11. BONUS, and AUTHOR NOTE: Dancing to Queen

Hey everyone! I know that a lot of loose threads were not wrapped up last chapter. I decided that I couldn't really wrap them all up in a Epiloge bonus chapter, so guess what?

SEQUEL!!!

That's right, yo! Sequelies! In fact, I think you may be getting two. The next sequel will be called _The Red, Green, and Gold_, and it'll begin on August 30th. Here's a little something I promised a while ago to tide you over until then. Also, I'll be posting my collab fic with Trashlife really soon. Luv ya trashcakes : )

Draco Malfoy was, truely, at soul, a dork. A total dork. And Harry couldn't help but laugh when he started doing horrible zombie impersonations with the broccoli. "I AM... BROCCOLI!" He shouted, giggling. Harry rolled his eyes, trying not to smirk. "You are dork, Draco." When he took the broccoli from his hands, their fingers grazed, and he flushed. "Uhm," Harry put his hands in his pockets. "We need some cans of tomatoes for the recipe. Do you want to go to the canned food aisle?" Draco nodded, then threw Harry into the shopping cart. "Hey!" He shouted, struggling to get up. Draco giggled, shoving the cart as far away he could. Harry rolled down the aisle, screaming "DRAAAAAACO!" as he went, eventually crashing into a frozen yougurt display.

Draco laughed, running to help him up. He paused when Harry was on his feet, squeezed his hand, held on for a moment too long, then let go. Harry blushed, looking at his feet. "Why are you being so dumb today?" He asked quietly. Draco shrugged. "I think you do that to me." He grinned.

A song came on the radio, and Draco smiled again. Harry winced. Oh, please, gawd no...

"Can anybody find me somebody to looove?" He sang in a high voice, jumping in the shopping cart and standing. Harry recoiled, then slung his leg over the side, got out, and sat down. He might as well enjoy the show until they got kicked out.

Draco pointed his finger at the "audience" AKA Harry, and began to sing in a deep and soulful voice, swinging his hips. "Each morning I get up, I die a little. Can barely stand on my feet." Draco waggled his hand. "Take a look in the mirror, and cry. Looove what you do, to me." Harry grinned. Draco even had a little audience now, a little girl who was captivated entirely by the performence.

"I have spent all my years to believe in you-" He pushed the cart so that he landed in one of the main rows. He flung his hands out, circling in the grocery cart. "But I just can't get no relief!"

"LORD!"

Harry couldn't stop himself from singing the backup. "Somebody, somebody."

"Can anybody find me... somebody to love?" Draco sang, looking straight into Harry's eyes. It sent a shiver up his spine. Pretty much the whole supermarket was watching them now.

"Eveeeryday" He flung his hat to one of the shocked customers, who caught it. "I cry and I cry and I cry-"

He jumped down from the cart. "But eveeerybody wants to put me down, they say I'm going CRAZY!" Harry smiled. "They say, I got a lot of water in my brain." He shouted, jumping up and down. "Got no common sense, I got nobody left to believe." Surprisingly enough, Draco found that the audience sang along with him. "YEAH, YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!"

He giggled, spinning around. The song was coming to a close, and he was going to go out with a bang. He ran full tilt towards Harry, then fell to his knees, sliding into a display of organic fruits, singing all the while: "CAN ANYBODY FIND MEEEE"

Just before the manager arrived to: erm, escort them out of the store, Malfoy looked right into Harry's eyes, and sang the final line. "Somebody to-"

Harry smiled, whispering the word.

"Love."

Hi guys! Sorry that this was short T.T

I just really wanted to write it. : )


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